TIEBELÈby Antonino Condorelli

In the south-west of Burkina Faso, a landlocked country in west Africa, near the Ghanaian border, there is a small, circular village of about 1.2 hectares, called Tiébele. Set in the heart of Kassena country, Tiébélé is famous for its sukhala or colorful windowless traditional houses. It is inhabited by people of Kassena, the oldest ethnic group in Burkina Faso, who settled in the region in the 15th century. Women of Tiébélé decorate their houses by painting intricate designs on the exterior walls, using colored mud and chalk. Houses in Tiébélé have been built for defensive purposes, whether against the climate or potential enemies. The doors are small in order to offer protection and there are barely any windows.